China: Xinjiang bans burqas, beards on city buses

Amid an upsurge in separatist violence, a city in China's restive Xinjiang region has banned those in Islamic headscarves, burqas and with long beards from public transport.

Officials in Karamay said the ban, which prohibits headscarves, partial face veils and burqas, would last until August 20 due to a local sports event.

Xinjiang, home to the Muslim Uighur minority, has seen an upsurge in violence in recent months.

Authorities have blamed Uygur separatists for the upsurge in violence. In a report by the Karamay Daily which was carried by national media outlets, officials listed the "five types of people" who would be banned from public transport.

They are people wearing headscarves, veils, burqas, clothes with the crescent moon and star symbol, and "youths with long beards". "Passengers who do not co-operate, particularly the 'five types of people', will be reported to the police," said the report, which added that all commuters would be subject to bag checks.